This wall scroll is for lovers of lotus: lotus blossoms on still water, painted in a relaxed classical style. Painters never tired of the lotus, and looking at this scroll, neither will you. Study it a while and white, lotus leaf and reed emerge from the background, each one carefully observed.
Tonal control is the quiet star here — the mineral colors sit bright against the silk without glare. Like much classical Chinese art, it carries a wish inside the image — the lotus rises clean from muddy water, the classic emblem of purity. Color stays clean whites, fresh greens and lively, varied color — enough to lift the ink, never enough to shout. It brings high summer along: blossoms fully open, greens at their deepest, days at their longest. One cord, one nail: the scroll hangs flat and true, in the time-honored fashion.
All it needs is wall space and reasonable light — it handles the atmosphere by itself. A frameless hanging scroll in the classic style — give it a wall and it becomes the room's calm center. It is a fine example of white and lotus leaf Chinese painting, the kind of piece that grows on you.
